Like a Marionette
by Misanthropic Sycophant
Summary: Once again, Ritsuka goes to Soubi to find him battered and bleeding, and he knows this is not the way it should be...SoubiXRitsuka, RitsukaXSoubi, RXS, SxR, RxS


"Why didn't you call me?" Ritsuka snapped, surveying the various wounds oozing blood that his Sentouki had endured. The blonde man simply smiled slightly, before Ritsuka jostled his tattered body in an attempt to get him to move. Acting on an impulse his teeth clenched together, while Soubi pushed the pain to the back of his mind. The images behind his blue eyes swam, and before he could stop himself, his mind faded off into an uneasy sleep. And he floated there as if suspended in air.

_~Like a marionette~_

His sacrifice looked at the older man with a look of exasperation, before he sat down pulling Soubi's beat up body on top of his legs. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the blonde man's whole boy draped over his lap, the cat-eared boy shifted his Sentouki's body off of him until only Soubi's head was resting on his legs. Doubting his decision about putting the blonde man's head in his lap, Ritsuka snorted, knowing that at this point Soubi couldn't do much to him. Watching the warm blood trickling down Soubi's neck, Ritsuka felt a pang of guilt at his Sentouki's condition. Soubi's perfect skin was marred with different forms of imperfection. Bruises exploded own from unknown impacts, long slashes snaked down leaking a steady stream of crimson.

Feeling another tug of guilt at the large area Soubi's wounds covered, the cat-eared boy ran a soft fingertip over one of the blue blossoms on his Sentouki's cheek. His violet orbs blinked slowly, taking in all of the damage that had been inflicted. But Ritsuka knew that he couldn't have done much about it, since their bond wasn't fully formed. The sacrifice knew that spell battles were difficult on him, but seeing Soubi this broken up, made a ball of rage form in his chest. The Sentouki could've called him instead of letting himself get so beat up without anyone there…

"Soubi," Ritsuka murmured, brushing a few strands of the blonde's hair from his face. The older man's face was relaxed; the usual façade he wore had fallen away, leaving his unusually beautiful face free of fake laughter lines and scowls. The violet eyed boy sighed slightly, he was going to miss his curfew again, but next to Soubi, his mother wasn't nearly as important. Glancing at Soubi's rounded glasses, Ritsuka hesitated before he removed His sacrifice stared at his wounded Sentouki, before placing his hands on each side of the blonde man's head. A real bonded pair shouldn't have this type of thing happen to them, should they? A truly bonded pair should never face a spell battle alone… The cat-eared sacrifice sighed again, beginning to stroke the older man's blonde locks, hoping that the rhythmic motion would calm him down. He knew that the other would be fine, but Ritsuka couldn't help but feel worried. Ristuka felt his body stiffen when his Sentouki winced slightly, turning his head towards his sacrifice's stomach. Feeling a bit embarrassed, the violet eyed boy slowly removed his hands from the side of the man's head, waiting anxiously for his bond mate to wake up.

'_This would be so much easier if he would just…trust me.'_

'_I thought he said that we were bonded, by a special bond that no one else would have with him.'_

'_But he did have that type of bond already…'_

'_With…,'_

"Seimei…" He knew that he would never be able to compare to his brother in giving Soubi what he wanted, but the cat-eared boy couldn't help but feel, angry at his brother. Who knows how many of Soubi's scars could've been prevented if the blonde man had never met his sadistic older brother. Biting his lip slightly, the boy extended a pale finger to touch Soubi's bleeding name.

_Beloved_

The crimson pulsed out beneath his touch, running down the older man's pale skin, staining his open blue shirt. Despite what Soubi may have thought about the mark, Ritsuka was appalled that his older brother had been the one who had placed the mark there. Even though he had seen the true Seimei, Ritsuka still very much wanted to believe that the loving older brother he remembered was the true Seimei. The cat-eared boy ran his fingers absently over the bleeding letters.

'_How could this make anyone happy?_' the boy thought angrily. As much as the sacrifice wanted to make his fighter happy, Ritsuka knew that he would never be able to do that for Soubi. Never would he be able to brutalize Soubi as his brother had, carving his name into the older man's pale flesh. Goosebumps rose over his skin at the thought, and his violet eyes clamped themselves shut. Tears swam behind his eyelids, but he would not let them fall. Why should he upset the wounded man any farther than he already had? He swiped them away with the back of his sleeve before realizing that he had wiped some of Soubi's blood over his face. The violet-eyed boy paid little attention to it, instead turning his attention back to his wounded Sentouki.

Blood. So much blood had been taken from Soubi. It ran like crimson rivers down the sentouki's body during most battles, whether or not Ritsuka had taken any damage. It didn't seem fair. Who had deemed the blond worthy of nothing but a tool for someone else? Not a person, but just a tool. To be used however his sacrifice wanted him to be used.

_~Like a marionette~_

"Forgive me, baka," Ritsuka murmured. Bending down, the cat-eared boy planted a chaste kiss on the other's lips. A fiery blush soon attacked his face, as the smaller boy watched his sentouki's blue eyes flutter open. Soubi's eyes danced in amusement, and before his Sacrifice could pull away the blonde wrapped his arms around Ritsuka's neck. The boy squeaked in surprise, but made no move to escape from the other's grip; instead he gave in and responded to the kiss. Although a bit surprised, Soubi's lips curled upwards slightly in amusement. It was a simple kiss, nothing dirty or too intimate about it. The kiss was a simple display of their weak bond between fighter and sacrifice. Hopefully, Ritsuka thought, the kiss was something that would make Soubi happy.

Feeling the pressure being released from the back of his neck, the cat-eared boy pulled back slowly. When he opened his violet eyes, Ritsuka found himself staring into the depths of his Sentouki's icy eyes sparkling with amusement. That is of course, until he saw a smear of his own blood on his sacrifice's face. The older man's amused expression fell, and he reached a warm hand up quickly to wipe it away.

'_I've tainted him,'_

'_Stripped away his innocence,'_

'_and replaced it with something filthy.'_

'_I'm sorry.'_

Noticing his Sentouki's stormy blue eyes, the cat-eared boy grabbed the other man's hand and prevented it from moving from his face. Something was wrong. What had happened? The Sentouki had been so happy just a second ago, but now…Ritsuka's violet eyes searched Soubi's in annoyance. However, the blue-eyed Sentouki would not look at him, instead choosing to avoid his gaze. Here he was kissing the perverted older man, and yet, the Sentouki was still unhappy. Taking the other man's head in his hands, Ritsuka turned the other man's face towards his.

'_Ah, I've made him angry at me again.'_

'

"Soubi!" Ritsuka snapped. The blonde stared at his sacrifice blankly, hoping that the cat-eared boy hadn't noticed his mask slip. Once he saw Ritsuka's expression, he knew that it was impossible for him not to have noticed. His sacrifice was too good at seeing through his fake expressions. The blonde man smiled slightly, and reached up to grasp a handful of his Sacrifice's shirt. Ritsuka scowled slightly, realizing that he wouldn't be able to get any information out of the blonde.

"Let's get you fixed up Soubi," Ritsuka said, shifting Soubi's battered body off of his lap. Gritting his teeth in pain, Soubi attempted to stand up only to find his long legs trembling with the effort underneath the strain of the wounds they had sustained. Without a word, the cat-eared boy was by Soubi's side, wrapping his mother abused arms around his Sentouki's waist. Somehow, this shaky bond was working for them. For now, Soubi was content with being nothing more than a close friend to the boy, acting like a marionette for Ritsuka's requested "orders". The cat-eared boy, was still getting used to the older man. Ritsuka never tried to order him, never trying in any way to replace Seimei in Soubi's life. Maybe with time, Ritsuka and Soubi would heal each other's scars, and even become more than master and servant. That time may be approaching in the future, but for now, they would settle for what they had. Neither of them was pushing the limits of the other, instead just growing closer, allowing time to strengthen their bond.

_~Like a marionette~_

**Oh gosh…this fic is DRIPPING with cheese…*face palm* Despite that fact I really like this one ;3 I hope to write more for Loveless couples, but this one seems rather awkward to me D: I shall try to make my next one A LOT better! (Especially since its going to be another YojiXNatsuo one.. ;3 I'm writing it as I post this lol )**

**Enjoy! Rate and review please! Reviews make authors happy, and happy authors write more material quicker than discouraged authors with no reviews! ;3**


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